The Arizona Bowl features a pair of Aggies with Utah State in the postseason for the sixth time in seven years taking on New Mexico State who is making its first bowl appearance since the Eisenhower Administration. NMSU head coach Doug Martin led one of the more underrated turnaround in college football this season after combining for eight victories his first three years. A big part of the turnaround was the play of senior quarterback Tyler Rodgers. The Aggies rank fourth nationally in passing yards and the Arizona native Rogers ranked second in both completions (29) and passing yards (347.7) per game. The New Mexico State defense also improved by over a touchdown per game though the unit certainly benefited from a watered down Sun Belt as five teams failed to average over 21 ppg. Eliminate games against offensively inept UTEP, South Alabama, and Idaho, and Read more

There’s been a fair bit of buzz in the betting markets about Oklahoma State’s late season collapse, driving concerns about the Cowboys mentality as they face Virginia Tech in the Camping World Bowl. For a team that had Playoff aspirations, a December 28 bowl game may not push the appropriate motivational buttons for Mike Gundy’s squad.

That being said. Oklahoma State DIDN’T collapse down the stretch, winning two out of three after their loss to Oklahoma, including a solid road win at bowl bound Iowa State. They didn’t cover a pointspread in those three ballgames, but that certainly wasn’t unusual for a team that spent most of the season as an overvalued commodity, just 2-6-1 ATS following their 3-0 start.

The Cowboys strength, all season, was their dynamic passing game. Senior QB Mason Read more